From: MediAction@aol.com
Date: Thu, 6 Nov 1997 17:37:50 -0500 (EST)
Subject: MEDIAlert! ["A"] - 11-6-97 (Ellen/ABC; ACLU/BESS)
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INDEX: "MEDIAlert!" - 11.06.97 [Part "A" ONLY]
-ITEM 1: "Kiss and Television" [ABC; Ellen DeGeneres; TV-14/TV-PG; Drew
Carey Show; Traditional Values Coalition; Media Research Center;
Entertainment Weekly, TV Guide; Eight Bullets].
-ITEM 2: "Blocking the Blockers" [ACLU; BESS; Kern County; N2H2].
-ITEM 3: "Hate Mail" [San Francisco Chronicle; Capitol Resource Institute;
American Family Association; R.A.M.P.; Focus on the Family; Probe
Ministries].
Part "B" ["Media/Briefs" and "Web Watch"] posted SEPARATELY.
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M E D I A l e r t !
____________________________
November 6, 1997 Al Kielwasser
[1]
K I S S A N D T E L E V I S I O N
A promotional spot -- aired during "Monday Night Football" -- recently
satirized certain tensions building around the ABC's hit sitcom, "Ellen."
The ad specifically promoted October 29th's episode and featured the leading
lesbian herself, who says: "Hi, I'm Ellen DeGeneres. I can't tell you the
plot of this week's show, but it's titled 'Ellen Kisses a Girl and Upsets the
Network.'"
During the episode in question, "Ellen" did indeed "kiss a girl" -- and,
apparently, she "upset" the network as well. At least, ABC felt it necessary
to (once again) precede the show with a special warning: "Due to adult
content, parental discretion is advised."
The same warning label was attached to an October 8th episode of "Ellen,"
which also featured a same-sex kiss. According to reports by the Associated
Press (Oct. 28), ABC has simply "repeated its position that the advisory
signaling 'adult content' is intended as help to parents and is not
discriminatory."
This warning label is NOT tagged onto other ABC sitcoms, however, which
feature far more "adult content" -- all of it decidedly HETEROSEXUAL.
Moreover, EVERY lesbian-themed episode of "Ellen" continues to carry a
"TV-14" rating; other ABC sitcoms are rated with the less-restrictive
"TV-PG."
On the same night as "Ellen's" most-recent kiss, for instance, an episode of
ABC's "Drew Carey Show" featured ample heterosexual hijinks -- from dating
and kissing, to leering and groping. The typical plot also included images
of straight men drinking themselves into alcoholic oblivion -- which
apparently IS a suitable model for young viewers, since this broadcast
prompted no special "parental advisory" from the network.
Unfortunately, most television critics are either blind or indifferent to
ABC's double-standard. For example, "TV Guide's" Mark Schwed believes that
the warning labels reserved for "Ellen" are "a good thing." The network is
merely fulfilling its duty to "enforce standards," according to Schwed, and
opponents of this labeling practice (including DeGeneres herself) are
"stomping their feet over the wrong issue."
In an op-ed for the "Los Angeles Times" (Oct. 25), Sue Perez of the
Traditional Values Coalition agrees that: "The warnings placed before the
show area step in the right direction." Ideally, however, "Ellen" should be
canceled and -- Perez insists -- "ABC should replace it with a more
traditional family-type show."
Even media critics who unequivocally LIKE "Ellen" have taken -- at best -- an
ambivalent stand in the warning label debate. In a recent issue of
"Entertainment Weekly" (Oct. 24), for example, Ken Tucker begins his review
on a positive note: "It's often said that you can't be funny if you're also
trying to promote a social or political agenda.... But 'Ellen,' now in its
fifth season, keeps getting funnier, even as its star conducts the most
relentless gay-empowerment campaign prime time has ever seen." With regard
to the labeling controversy, Tucker even admits that "casual straight-world
bed hoping on TV is so common, DeGeneres must feel as if she's actually been
a poster child for comparative restraint."
However, he then goes on to argue that ABC's labeling policy is NOT a case of
"blatant discrimination" -- as DeGeneres herself has charged. She needs to
understand the "discomfort that ABC believes its viewers may be
experiencing," Tucker says. In her "righteous passion" about warning labels,
he argues, DeGeneres fails to acknowledge "that the last thing an
intrinsically conservative entity like a TV network wants is uncomfortable
consumers -- or advertisers."
"I'm not saying DeGeneres shouldn't do what she is doing," Tucker
dismissively concludes. "But her protests seem a little beside the point."
In effect, Tucker suggests, homosexuals should accommodate the needs of
homophobes. He fails to recognize that the "discomforts" of bigotry are
wholly caused by bigots themselves.
On this point, mainstream media pundits have joined with right wing bigots in
accusing uppity queers of demanding too much -- and going too far. Lesbians
and gays who object to warning labels are attempting to "force" homosexuality
on unsuspecting audiences.
The conservative Media Research Center, for instance, has issued a special
"CyberAlert" (Nov. 5) condemning "TV's liberal advocacy" in general, and
"Ellen" in particular. The MRC complains that, "since the 'coming out'
episode last season, star Ellen DeGeneres has gone beyond pushing tolerance
or acceptance of an actively gay main character.... to use her show to push
liberal gay rights activism." As evidence of such "pushiness," the MRC cites
an episode of "Ellen" in which (gasp!) the "gay yellow pages" are touted.
Among prime-time TV shows, of course, "Ellen" alone is singled out for such
criticism. "Boy Meets World" and "Home Improvement" are not faulted for
"pushing heterosexuality" upon the nation. The "Drew Carey Show" is not
accused of forcing audiences to "tolerate" straight white men.
It is particularly troubling that -- along with ABC -- even "fair minded"
critics target same-sex KISSING as a cause for "discretion." The most modest
displays of affection, which heterosexuals take for granted, too often lead
to harm and harassment for lesbians and gay men.
In her autobiographical book "Eight Bullets," Claudia Brenner recounts a
crime that suggests the chilling connection between on-screen hypocrisy and
real-life hate. Brenner was SHOT -- and her lover was KILLED -- simply for
kissing in public.
**** ACTION ALERT! Insist that ABC cease attaching homophobic and
hypocritical "parental advisories" to lesbian or gay scenes of affection.
Contact: Jamie Tarses, Entertainment President, ABC, 2040 Avenue of the
Stars, Los Angeles, CA 90037, tel. 310-557-7777 (Audience Information Line),
fax 310-557-7679, e-mail abcaudr@ccabc.com, web-site http://www.abc.com.
Copy your correspondence to Ellen DeGeneres, c/o Arthur Imparato, 1122 S.
Roxbury, Los Angeles, CA 90035.
Also -- send critical feedback to the critics (and their employers).
Contact: Mark Schwed, L.A. Bureau Staff, and Jack Curry, Managing Editor,
"TV Guide," 1211 Avenue of the Americas, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10036-8701,
fax 212-852-7470, web-site http://www.tvguide.com; Ken Tucker,
Critic-at-Large, and James W. Seymore, Managing Editor, "Entertainment
Weekly," 1675 Broadway, New York, NY 10019, e-mail letters@ew.com, web-site
http://www.ew.com.
To monitor homophobic activities of the TVC or MRC, contact: Media Research
Center, 113 S West Street, 2nd Floor, Alexandria, VA 22314, tel.
703-683-9733, e-mail mrc@mediaresearch.org (or
MediaResearchCenter@compuserve.com, web-site http://www.mrc.org/;
Traditional Values Coalition, e-mail webmaster@traditionalvalues.org,
web-site http://www.traditionalvalues.org.
[ RE/SOURCES: Claudia Brenner's book, "Eight Bullets -- One Women's Story of
Surviving Anti-Gay Violence," was published in 1995. ].
[2]
B L O C K I N G T H E B L O C K E R S
The ACLU is preparing to battle another cyber-censorship case, focused in
Kern County, California. Last year, the county's Board of Supervisors passed
legislation mandating the use of blocking software at all public libraries.
According to ACLU attorney Ann Beeson, the law is "preventing adults and
minors from accessing a wide variety of valuable information through the
Internet."
In response to the new legislation, Kern County libraries installed a
blocking program known as "BESS" on every Internet access terminal. This
program is running on terminals used by adults as well as children, though
the law only requires that blocking software remain active whenever "a minor
is present."
According to Beeson, "the ACLU conducted research on BESS and determined that
the program blocks access to a wide variety of sites that contain valuable
information for minors as well as adults." "BESS blocks access to AIDS and
HIV-related speech, safer sex information, art sites with classic nudes, gay
and lesbian issues and literature, graphic human rights reports, information
about fighting hate groups online, and information about female genital
mutilation," she said. "We believe the mandatory use of BESS in the library
violates the First Amendment rights of library patrons and Internet speakers
who wish to communicate constitutionally protected information."
"BESS" is produced by the N2H2 company. The ACLU is currently seeking
potential plaintiffs for the case.
**** ACTION ALERT! Encourage the manufacturer of "BESS" to adopt and
promote non-heterosexist, anti-homophobic filtering policies and procedures
-- WHEREVER the software is used; contact Peter Nickerson, Chief Executive
Officer, and Kerri Karvetski, Public Relations Director, N2H2 Inc., 1301 5th
Avenue, Suite 1501, Seattle, WA 98101, tel. 206-971-1400 (or 800-971-2622),
fax 206-971-1460, e-mail pr@n2h2.com (or info@2h2.com), web-site
http://www.n2h2.com/.
Also -- let Kern County officials know "the world is watching" (and that it
is no longer permissible for local governments to abuse the rights of lesbian
and gay youth in a vacuum); send letters-to-the-editors of these regional
newspapers: Editor, "Village News," 3706 Elm Street, Bakersfield, CA
93301-1515, tel. 805-323-8892, e-mail sofiea@villagenews.com, web-site
http://www.villagenews.com; Letters, "Bakersfield Californian," P.O. Box
440, Bakersfield, CA 93302-0440, fax 805-395-7380, e-mail
opinion@bakersfield.com web-site http://www.bakersfield.com (letters should
be under 250 words, must be signed by one person, and include a home address
and phone number).
You might also remind the county's corporate leaders that homophobia is bad
(for) business; contact the Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce, 1033
Truxtun Ave., P.O. Box 1947, Bakersfield, CA 93303, tel. 805-327-4421, fax
805-327-8751, e-mail owilde@kern.com, web-site http://www.bbol.org.
[ RE/SOURCES: For more information on the ACLU's case, contact Ann Beeson,
Staff Attorney, ACLU National Legal Department, 125 Broad Street, New York,
NY 10004, tel. 212-549-2601, fax 212-549-2651, e-mail beeson@aclu.org. ].
[3]
H A T E M A I L
An article in the "San Francisco Chronicle" (Oct. 5) provides a (literally)
exceptional report on the propaganda that sustains organized homophobia -- a
subject few mainstream news outlets cover well, or at all. In his
investigation of the Captiol Resource Institute (a California based anti-gay
lobby), reporter Robert Gunnison exposes the demented rhetoric that all such
hate groups share -- and circulate -- through their "news" releases, action
alerts, and (especially) fundraising letters.
"In the world of the Capitol Resource Institute, there is no Ellen DeGeneres
or [lesbian politicians like] Carole Migden," Gunnison notes. "It is a world
of absolutes, where human faces are not allowed." He further reports that,
in a recent press release, the CRI "trumpeted" the defeat of "gay agenda
bills" in this year's legislative session.
As evidence, he cites a recent CRI press release, which "trumpets" the defeat
of various "gay agenda bills" in this year's legislative session. According
to Gunnison, this particular press release: "used the words 'gay agenda' 11
times on one page. It was a 'tidal wave' of 18 'gay agenda' bills that
lawmakers debated. The bills were 'outrageous' and 'dangerous' and, of
course, 'radical.' 'The gay agenda is not the people's agenda,' said the
group's executive director, Randy Thomasson."
In order to gain support (and donor dollars), CRI's homophobic message
ultimately plays to paranoia -- insisting that the "gay agenda'' is
all-threatening and pervasive. For example, Gunnison reports, a CRI handout
titled "Responses to the Gay Rights Agenda" argues that: "Homosexuals are
among the most advantaged people in our country. There are members of
Congress, judges, CEOs, entertainers and persons of high influence....
Research by marketing firms shows that, as a group, homosexuals have
higher-than-average per capita annual incomes.... and are more likely to be
overseas and frequent fliers.''
"Oh no," Gunnison quips, "not frequent fliers too!" Significantly, he also
points out: "CRI never says what the other percentage represents. But that
is of little import. The argument is the important thing, even if has
curious parallels with anti-Semitism."
"And it is essential that no face appear," Gunnison concludes. "To see a
Migden in the Assembly, presiding over the Appropriations Committee, or a
DeGeneres on television, might make it all too human. It is easier to hate
an abstraction."
Though Gunnison focuses on the CRI, there is certainly no shortage of
homophobic groups whose rhetoric warrants (and yet escapes) a comparable
scrutiny. Recently, for example, one organization alone -- the American
Family Association -- boasted of distributing over 750,000 reports entitled
"Why American Families Should Boycott Disney." The AFA also sent a special
"Boycott Disney Packet" to 170,000 church groups on its mailing list, shipped
10 anti-Disney/anti-gay public service announcements to 1,100 "Christian
radio stations," and even produced a video -- "The Disney Boycott: A Just
Cause" -- intended for distribution to "over 100 Christian TV stations" and
"approximately 30,000 local Southern Baptist churches."
While coverage the Disney boycott has been fairly extensive, almost none of
this reporting includes a look at the AFA's revenue-generating "internal"
propaganda. The voluminous hate media produced by other homophobic groups,
in response to just this one issue, has been similarly ignored by the
mainstream press.
As noted, such oversight is all too common. Journalists seem disinterested
in closely examining the flood of fundraising letters, action alerts and
other "hate mail" that pours daily from organized homophobes. This is
inexcusable, but not simply because there is SO MUCH of the stuff. These
"hidden" media reveal an agenda that professional homophobes otherwise DENY
(with impunity) in their more-mainstream appearances -- a promotion of hate
and ignorance, in the service of greed.
For too long, homosexuals have been required to "defend" themselves. Isn't
it time that homophobes were seriously asked to do the same?
**** ACTION ALERT! Encourage the press to accurately monitor the media
distributed by homophobic groups; add your name (or your dog's) to various
Right Wing mailing lists, and forward anything worthy of attention to local
or national news outlets. These prolific hate groups are a good place to
start:
- American Family Association, P. O. Drawer 2440, Tupelo, MS 38803, tel.
601-844-5036, web-site http://www.afa.net (AFA is a large, well-financed
media watchdog group, dedicated to "promoting the Biblical ethic of decency
in American society with primary emphasis on TV and other media").
- Focus on the Family, 8605 Explorer Dr., Colorado Springs, CO 80920-1051,
tel. 719-531-5181 or 800-A-FAMILY, web-site http://www.fotf.org (headed by
the arch-homophobe "Dr." James Dobson, FOTF was founded in 1977 as "a
ministry based on mass communication").
- Probe Ministries, 1900 Firman Drive, Suite 100, Richardson, TX 75081, tel.
972-480-0240 or 800-899-PROB, fax 972-644-9664, e-mail probe@compuserve.com,
web-site http://www.probe.org (Probe is a self-described "non-profit
corporation whose mission is to reclaim the primacy of Christian thought and
values in Western culture through media, education, and literature").
- Restore America's Moral Pride, 1304 SW 160th Avenue, Suite 122, Weston, FL
33326, tel. 954-349-0366, fax 954-349-0361, web-site http://www.probe.org
(for easy "printing and distribution," the R.A.M.P. web-site includes a flyer
headlined "Remove the Homosexual Agenda and Save America's Children!!!").
[ RE/SOURCES: Robert B. Gunnison is a Sacramento Bureau reporter for the
"San Francisco Chronicle," 901 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94103-2988,
fax 415-512-8196, e-mail chronletters@sfgate.com, web-site
http://www.sfgate.com. ].
[end]
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ABOUT MEDIALERTS
Distributed continuously since 1992 as a community press service,
"MEDIAlert!" [TM] is a biweekly action and advocacy-oriented column of media
criticism, focused on lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender issues. Recipients may
print, publish or post this material, in whole or part, under this or any
title, without prior permission. When appropriate, attribution can be made
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or part of any "MEDIAlert!" are always appreciated. Contact: MEDIAlert!,
163 Park Street, San Francisco, CA 94110-5835, voice-mail/fax 415-826-5203,
e-mail MediAction@aol.com.
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AUTHOR NOTES
The editor of "Gay People, Sex and the Media" (New York: Haworth Press), Al
Kielwasser's media criticism and research have appeared widely in both
popular and academic publications; he was twice elected Chair of the Gay &
Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation/San Francisco Bay Area.
________________________________________
"Shape the forces that shape our society . . .
Challenge homophobia in and through the media."
________________________________________
==============================================
From: MediAction@aol.com
Date: Thu, 6 Nov 1997 21:24:57 -0500 (EST)
Subject: URL correction for "MEDIAlert!" 11.06.97
Oops...
Please note the following CORRECTION to "MEDIAlert! [A] 11.06.97." In Item
3:
The URL for R.A.M.P. is incorrectly listed as http://www.probe.org.
The correct URL is http://www.gocin.com/ramp/index.html.